Uttar Pradesh: Why Phases 6 And 7 Are As Much A BSP-SP Fight As An NDA-INDI Alliance Contest

Twenty-seven of the 80 Lok Sabha constituencies in Uttar Pradesh will be voting in the sixth and seventh phases of the Lok Sabha elections on 25 May and 1 June respectively.

In 2019, the Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) won 10 seats in UP when it was in alliance with the Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party (SP).

Of these 10, six are going to vote in these two phases, posing a challenge to the BSP to retain them, especially when the BSP-SP alliance no longer exists.

These six constituencies are Ambedkar Nagar, Shrawasti, Lalganj, Ghosi, Jaunpur and Ghazipur. The SP won only one seat, Azamgarh among the 27 seats due for voting.

However, in the 2022 UP Assembly elections, the SP performed well in these areas. More than one-third of the SP's total assembly seats came from the 27 parliamentary seats.

Of the 135 assembly constituencies in these 27 seats, the SP won 39 in 2022. Notably, it won all five assembly constituencies of Ambedkar Nagar, Lalganj and Azamgarh.

Its then ally, Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) also won many seats in these areas while the BSP could win only one seat, Rasara in the Ballia district.

Here's a rundown of these six Lok Sabha seats.

1. Ambedkar Nagar: Ritesh Pandey, who won on the BSP ticket in 2019, is now contesting as a BJP candidate. The SP candidate, Lalji Verma is a former MLA while the BSP candidate Qamar Hayat has no such glory to his name.

Moreover, SP is in a strong position because it won all the five assembly constituencies coming under this seat in 2022. With a weak candidate, the BSP might come third in this constituency.

2. Shrawasti: Here again, Ram Shiromani Verma, who won on the BSP ticket in 2019, is now contesting as an SP candidate. The BJP candidate here is Saket Misra, an incumbent MLC in UP.

3. Lalganj: The SP and BJP candidates, both are former MPs of this constituency while the BSP candidate is Indu Chaudhary, again not a much-known name.

The BSP can come third here also as the SP is in a strong position because it won all the five assembly constituencies coming under this seat in 2022.

Moreover, Sangeeta Azad, who won on the BSP ticket in 2019, by a margin of over 1.6 lakh votes, joined the BJP earlier this year, further weakening the party.

4. Ghosi: The BSP can give a tough fight in this constituency as its candidate here is former MP Balkrishna Chauhan. It also holds an assembly seat falling under this constituency.

The BJP is not contesting here and instead has allotted seat to its ally SBSP, as the Om Prakash Rajbhar-led party also holds an assembly seat falling under this constituency.

5. Jaunpur: The BSP has got weak in this constituency after strongman and former MP Dhananjay Singh extended his support to the BJP.

The BSP candidate here is incumbent MP Shyam Singh Yadav, while the BJP has fielded former Maharashtra Congress leader Kripashankar Singh.

The SP has fielded Babu Singh Kushwaha, former UP minister in the Mayawati cabinet. The seat is expected to witness a tough contest as both the SP and the BJP hold two assembly segments each.

6. Ghazipur: Afzal Ansari, who won as a BSP candidate in 2019, is now contesting as an SP candidate while the BJP candidate Paras Nath Rai comes from an RSS background.

The BSP candidate is Dr Umesh Singh. While he is in politics since his student life at the Banaras Hindu University, he has not much to show in electoral politics.